Hundreds of influential women from across the country are expected to attend and see entrepreneurs, civil servants, charity founders and other professionals honoured for their hard work and talent. The event will also provide an opportunity and platform for women to share their stories and inspire others.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2016\/12\/Rhys-Archer-Women-of-Science.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rhys\u2019 Women of Science campaign shares photo stories of women in and around Manchester who work in science and engineering. Its aim is to both raise the profile of women working in these areas and inspire schoolchildren to consider this path into higher education and beyond.<\/p>\n
Since its launch, the campaign has grown massively \u2013 and nowhere was this more apparent than at Bluedot Festival, where gig-goers could follow a trail to find photos of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) hidden around the iconic site. Or during the Manchester Science Festival, when Rhys held a photography exhibition and asked visitors questions like \u2018what does science mean to you?\u2019 and \u2018what does a scientist look like?\u2019.<\/p>\n
This last question is particularly poignant; while nearly half (47%) of the UK\u2019s workforce are female, women account for just 13% of the STEM workforce. And in engineering the numbers are even lower \u2013 women make up just 9% of the UK\u2019s engineering workforce*.<\/p>\n
We caught up with Rhys to ask if she thinks attitudes to women in science and engineering are changing and what challenges we still need to overcome.<\/p>\n
Have you been surprised by how much momentum your Women of Science campaign has gained since its launch?<\/strong><\/p>\n Hugely! I wasn\u2019t expecting much of it \u2013 it was just meant to be a small project that would create some resources for schools. Just over a year later, I\u2019ve interviewed over 30 women from across Europe, including Dame Nancy Rothwell and Professor Danielle George. I\u2019ve engaged with over 6,000 members of the public at events such as International Women\u2019s Day, Bluedot Festival, The University of Manchester Community Festival, and Science Spectacular. And I\u2019ve run a two-week digital photography exhibition based on the stories I\u2019ve collected and curated, which was at The People\u2019s History Museum for Manchester Science Festival last October. We\u2019ve engaged with lots of people online, mainly other female scientists and engineers as well as teachers and parents, and been able to secure funding to continue this work over the next year.<\/p>\n Even if the only impact the campaign has is to make one young girl feel less alone and show her that she can succeed in her goals, I\u2019ve accomplished more than I could have hoped to.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For me, it\u2019s about the feedback that I receive. Last year at Bluedot, I spoke to a young girl of nine years old, who told me all about quantum mechanics and particle physics! She was this amazing kid who was so enthusiastic and inspired, but she went on to tell me how she was bullied for being too smart, and how she didn\u2019t have many friends because the other kids thought she was weird for being into science. Just being able to give her these postcards with photos of all these female scientists on – and give her copies to give her classmates to show them that it\u2019s not weird – and being able to be there to talk to her and to try and block out this idea that it’s abnormal to be a female scientist was everything to me. I was so proud because, even if the only impact the campaign has is to make that one young girl feel less alone and show her that she can succeed in her goals despite what others think, then I\u2019ve accomplished more than I could have hoped to.<\/p>\n Now the campaign has been running for a while, what do you hope it will achieve? Has your goal changed since the campaign\u2019s launch?<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now, I\u2019m doing my best to just keep up with it! It\u2019s difficult balancing Women of Science, which is obviously so important, with the final six months of my PhD – which has to be my main focus. A lot of work goes into interviewing and photographing women, curating stories, editing photos, maintaining the website, adding blogs, keeping up with the statistics, designing postcards and posters, creating activities for events, and attending events \u2013 and it\u2019s just me! Lots of people think that there\u2019s a team who run it, but actually it\u2019s just me. So yeah, I don\u2019t want it to grow too much more. I\u2019d like just to be able to keep up with the events we have planned this year, hopefully plan a physical photography exhibition that can tour the UK at some point in the future, and get more of the stories I\u2019ve collected online.<\/p>\n I guess I would just say keep at it \u2013 and try to find people or a community that can support you. There\u2019s this huge Women in STEM community online – on Twitter and Instagram. Just search those hashtags and get in touch! All the women I know in that community would be more than happy to chat to anyone interested in becoming a scientist. It\u2019s so important to have people around you who you can relate to and who can help motivate you either when your studies get tough or if you ever feel alone with what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n Do you think that attitudes towards women choosing a career in science are changing \u2013 and is it becoming easier for them to take this path?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think so – I hope so. It can be hard to tell though, as with everything nowadays, you have to be careful that what you\u2019re seeing isn\u2019t just because of the bubble of social media that you\u2019re in. I try and get out into schools and public events as much as possible because that\u2019s where you can see how things really are. But yeah, even in the last 14 months since I started the campaign, I can see more and more of this type of campaign popping up, each with its own angle to try and represent diversity in science and to inspire young people not to be put off by the stereotype or the media perception of what a scientist looks like. I hope that they are filtering through to the intended audience and making a difference.<\/p>\n We need to\u00a0 make sure we are focusing on minorities within women in science and engineering.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n What challenges still remain for women in science?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think breaking the stereotype is a huge one. Changing this perception people have of \u2018boys\u2019\u2019 and \u2018girls\u2019\u2019 jobs \u2013 but I think this feeds into a much bigger societal issue of all these gendered expectations around us, which are still so common. Also working conditions \u2013 ensuring that women aren\u2019t at a disadvantage in their careers just because many still bear the burden of family life and caring duties, and that can be because of all sorts of things, from employment laws to social pressures to maternity and paternity pay. The main challenge I see, though, is so many movements and campaigns aren\u2019t intersectional enough. It isn\u2019t enough to just focus on improving the visibility of female role models – we need to\u00a0 make sure we are focusing on minorities within women in science and engineering by supporting and showcasing role models for those who identify as differently abled, BAME, and\/or LGBTQ \u00a0in science and engineering. I don\u2019t think we do that enough right now \u2013 it\u2019s something that I\u2019m working to focus on more with Women of Science throughout this next year.<\/p>\n Do you think the profile of and opportunities given to female scientists are growing?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s really hard to tell \u2013 especially for me as all of my newsfeeds and social media feeds are full of these women who are killing it in science and science communication \u2013 but I hope so! I think so \u2013 you look at the work that those such as Professor Athene Donald are doing to support women in research, or you think of Professor Danielle George appearing on the television at eight months pregnant to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture, and you hope attitudes are changing. But those things usually take a long time to trickle down and make a difference in schools and public opinion. In fact, in some of the STEM industries we are seeing fewer women entering the industry than 10 years ago, which flies in the face of everything we have been working for. So yeah, it\u2019s really hard to tell.<\/p>\n Who are your heroes?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s so difficult! I guess I don\u2019t have heroes as much as I just really respect and admire some of my own role models and mentors \u2013 female scientists and engineers at The University of Manchester, such as Professor Sarah Heath, Professor Danielle George and Dr Heather Williams,\u00a0who have taken the time to listen to me, support me, and give me valuable advice. Also the team in Student Recruitment and Widening Participation who have supported me since my first year as an undergraduate to work with young people. They are some of the most caring, hardworking people I\u2019ve met. And of course, the Women in STEM community online, who are incredibly inspiring whilst also being so open and supportive.<\/p>\n And finally, you\u2019ve achieved all of this on top of doing a PhD in Materials Science! So what\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve not yet finished my PhD! I\u2019m into my last six months now so focusing mainly on getting my research wrapped up and written up. I\u2019d like to continue in research. I\u2019m looking at postdoctoral positions in Materials \u2013 maybe looking at research that can be applied more to Biomedical materials – and also research applications within the aerospace industry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2018\/03\/Women-of-Science-2-300x300.jpg\")
What\u2019s been your proudest moment since launching Women of Science?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2018\/03\/Women-of-Science-3-225x300.jpg\")
What advice would you give to a young girl who loves science – and what would you say to a GCSE student hoping to study science further?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2018\/03\/Rhys-BWS-224x300.jpg\")